Vytautas the Great and Duchess Anna – the Most Influential Couple of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

Influential couples, also called power couples, are not just a phenomenon in today’s culture – such couples have always existed. An influential couple can be defined as the union of two strong, intelligent, and ambitious people. Many stories and films have been made about such couples: the Roman general Caesar and the Egyptian Pharaoh Cleopatra, the legendary criminals Bonnie and Clyde, the American President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis, artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, musicians Beyonce and Jay Z, social media celebrity Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West are just a few world-famous examples. There have also been many influential couples in Lithuanian history, including the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas and his wife, Duchess Anna.

Vytautas the Great (1350–1430) is the most famous ruler of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL). He was a great soldier and a skillful politician, he fought for the independence of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, expanded his estates and even managed to defeat the eternal enemy – the German Order – at the Battle of Grunwald in 1410.

Duchess Anna (date of birth is unknown, died in 1418) the wife of Vytautas the Great, was no less important and influential. She helped Vytautas escape from the captivity of the Order and signed important political agreements including the Astrava Agreement in 1392, which made Vytautas the Grand Duke of Lithuania. She also frequently participated in signing of agreements with the Order. Anna’s example proves that, even in the Middle Ages, a woman could become an influential political figure – she was, of course, from a very noble family, educated and clever.

The most impressive story about Vytautas and Anna, mentioned in history textbooks, sounds like an episode from an adventure novel, although it is a real event recorded in historical sources. In 1377, after the death of Algirdas, the uncle of Vytautas, a power struggle arose between Vytautas and Jogaila, who then took the throne as Grand Duke of Lithuania. In 1382, Vytautas was taken into captivity near Trakai by Jogaila and the German Order, and imprisoned in Krėva Castle. The Duke escaped from captivity with the help of his wise wife. The story about the escape from Krėva Castle is described in the chronicles as follows: 

Grand Duke Vytautas was kept in a strictly guarded chamber in Krėva Castle, and two women would come in to prepare the Duchess’ bed, watched by the guards. The Grand Duchess heard from the people that if the Grand Duke Vytautas were to remain in captivity for much longer, the same thing would happen to him as to his father (Vytautas’ father Kęstutis had been killed). And then she gave him this advice: when those women come to prepare the bed again, change into the clothes of one and go out with the other. Vytautas followed his wife's advice, dressed in the clothes of one woman and went out with the other, and when he left the castle, he fled to the Germans in Prussia.

Finally, in 1392, after a long and indecisive war, Vytautas regained the Duchy of Trakai and the estates of his father Kęstutis. He was also recognised as the representative of Jogaila in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and gained control of Vilnius, the capital. Soon he began to call himself the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and his power was recognised by the rulers of other countries.

Although Vytautas married again after Anna’s death, his first wife remained the most important woman in his life. This is testified by a document known as Vytautas’ premortal will, which was signed by the Duke on 21 October 1430, six days before his death. In that document, Vytautas declared that he was allocating a large sum of money to the Vilnius Cathedral and announced  that he wanted to be buried in the Cathedral, near the altar of St. Michael, next to Duchess Anna.